Engineer Kit

Engineer Kit helps you turn an unclear software request into an implemented, tested, and reviewed change. It is for developers and teams who want repeatable workflows for discovery, planning, coding, debugging, verification, and delivery while keeping approval with a person.

You install one Kit for your chosen coding assistant, then invoke the Skill that matches the outcome you need. The Kit also supplies specialized Agents, runtime automation, rules, and supporting files used by those workflows.

Is this the right Kit?

Choose Engineer Kit when the main outcome is a software change or technical maintenance task, such as:

• Clarifying requirements and comparing implementation approaches;
• Planning a feature, fix, migration, or refactor;
• Implementing and verifying an approved change;
• Debugging a failure or reviewing an existing diff;
• Preparing tested work for an explicitly authorized handoff or release.

Engineer Kit does not replace your coding assistant, project conventions, version control, or human judgment. It does not make model output correct by default, approve a plan for you, or authorize commits, merges, deployments, or other external actions. For a tiny change with clear acceptance criteria, you can start with the implementation workflow instead of running every discovery step.

A typical human-controlled workflow

Use this sequence when a request still needs discovery before implementation:

1. Run ak:brainstorm to clarify the outcome, constraints, and viable approach.
2. Run ak:plan to turn the selected approach into an implementation plan and verification criteria.
3. Review the plan. A person decides whether the scope and risks are acceptable.
4. Run ak:cook only after approval to implement the plan.

ak:cook includes focused testing and a mandatory code-review pass in its normal workflow. Use ak:test separately when you need a broader or independent QA pass, such as UI, accessibility, end-to-end, or coverage work. Use ak:code-review separately for an independent review of staged or unstaged changes, a commit, a pull request, or code produced outside ak:cook.

Practical multi-Skill recipes

• Repair a proven defect: give ak:fix the reproduction, expected behavior, and authority boundary. Use ak:test afterward when the repair needs an independent or broader regression pass.
• Deliver an approved change: use ak:brainstorm when the approach is still unclear, ak:plan for the implementation contract, and ak:cook only after review. Use ak:code-review for an independent diff review and ak:git only when the exact version-control handoff is authorized.
• Accept a cross-Kit launch handoff: Marketing Skills can produce a reviewed evidence set and launch brief. Before switching sessions, use ak:handoff to preserve the accepted requirements, decisions, source pointers, blockers, and verification state. Then use Engineer ak:plan and ak:cook for the approved product or site change.

The cross-Kit recipe requires both Kits to be installed where their Skills are invoked. The handoff is context to verify, not authority to implement, publish, deploy, contact an audience, or spend.

What is included

The resolved Engineer package includes shared inherited content plus Engineer-specific content. You install Engineer Kit once; the inherited foundation is package composition, not another public Kit or a second install.

These are resolved package counts. Files nested inside a Skill, such as its references, templates, scripts, or assets, belong to that Skill rather than becoming separate catalog entries.

Runtime availability

Availability is capability-specific. A successful install does not imply that every runtime can activate every packaged component in the same way. Read Runtime adapters before choosing a non-default target or assuming parity.

Install and try Engineer Kit

Complete Onboarding first so ak is configured, you are signed in to AgentKit, and ak licenses shows your Engineer Kit grant. From a project you control, install the project-native Claude Code target:

ak kit init engineer --target claude-code

Review the destination and installation summary, then start a fresh Claude Code session in that project.

For your first workflow, begin with a small feature whose result you can test:

/ak:brainstorm Add a health-check endpoint with a minimal response contract

When the outcome is clear, create the plan:

/ak:plan Plan the approved health-check endpoint

Read the proposed files, risks, and verification criteria. If you approve the plan, continue:

/ak:cook Implement the approved health-check endpoint plan

The workflow is complete only after you inspect the changed files, confirm the relevant tests, and accept the result. For other scopes, Claude plugin delivery, Codex, Cursor, or Skill selection, use Installing kits for the exact supported options.

Explore next

• Kits, Skills, Agents, and Hooks explains how the package components work together.
• Runtime adapters compares Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor delivery boundaries.
• Installing kits covers project and user scope, Claude native and plugin delivery, Skill selection, refresh, and uninstall.
• Projects, artifacts, and checkpoints explains ownership, human checkpoints, and recovery snapshots.
• Kit installation problems provides a safe diagnostic path when installation or discovery fails.
• CLI reference provides exact command and flag syntax.